Dow Chemical gets $2.2B Kuwait dispute payment

Dow Chemical Co. said Tuesday it received a $2.2 billion payment from Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait, settling a dispute over a scrapped joint venture.

A year ago, an international arbitration court awarded Dow $2.2 billion in damages stemming from Kuwait's move to withdraw from the joint venture.

Petrochemical Industries is a unit of Kuwait Petroleum Corp., which had agreed to form a $17.4 billion joint venture with Dow called K-Dow Petrochemicals. The venture, however, was scrapped in 2008 days before it was scheduled to launch at a time when commodity prices were plunging and the global economy was in a tailspin. By the time Kuwait backed out of the deal, crude prices had plummeted from $150 per barrel to just $40.

Dow said Tuesday that the payment reflects the damages awarded by the International Chamber of Commerce and recovery of its costs.

Dow has done business in Kuwait for decades and has several other joint ventures there. The company said it is looking for ways to strengthen its relationship with the country.